Giannoulis – Santa Marina Beach Hotel

The hotel was in a good position about 100 yard walk to bars restaurants and shops. We had 12 nights here, our plane was delayed so we arrived after 2am. We were welcomed at reception given our keys and taken to our rooms. We were across the road ( can be busy) but there is an underpass. In our room we had sandwiches fruit and water waiting which was really nice. During our stay every member of the team we encountered, reception, bar, restaurants and housekeeping were excellent. The pools were kept clean and the sunbeds plentiful. We loved the beach as the sea and sand were amazing. You did need to be early to get a bed on the beach but worth the 8 am start. The food was varied and very tasty, great salad bar and hot section. The bar was good and a nice area to sit. My only criticism is the rooms, very clean and a nice size. However the storage is dismal, 3 tiny drawers that couldn't take much at all, the wardrobe ok but 1 door wouldn't open fully, it banged against the fire door hinge. The bathroom, again very clean but needs refurbishment. The door banged against the sink when you walked in and the bath was quite old, shower acceptable. All in all we had a great stay, it is not very close to Chania but there is a bus stop outside. I would stay again, just more storage and refurbed bathroom needed.

Lovely hotel, very clean, very friendly staff, and the food was great. Pool and beach facilities were excellent. Being an adult only hotel was also a bonus for those without children. Being very early in the season, the only drawback was that there were not many places within walkable distance which were open yet, but there was a regular bus service into Chania if you wanted more action.

The nicest staff in all of Crete! Rooms are average but food and location is just perfect. 9 km to Chania and on the beach. Many bars and some shops nearby, hope to be back one day..... Very good 4-stars, they also have like a Greek night. Quality cocktails

Just returned from a lovely holiday at this hotel made even better by the wonderful staff. The restaurants were great and the food was lovely and varied, the staff were very friendly and helpful particularly Giannis and Christos who made our holiday very special . At lunchtime the food in the Sea line tavern was wonderful and enhanced by the great service and sense of humour from Manousos, who also made wonderful cocktails in the evening ! Greek night in the Thorodou restaurent on the Thursday night was definitely worth the extra money, the food was gorgeous and the dancers had the whole family up dancing, it was the best night of the holiday. The buses to Chania and Platanias were very regular from right outside the hotel and we used them to have some very varied evenings out. Although the taxis were cheap too. The reception staff were also great. We had one issue when we arrived in the early hours and were disappointed as our family of 6 were in two separate buildings, although 2 of the rooms had been upgraded to compensate, one to a lovely sea view! The next morning I explained to the reception staff that I wasn’t comfortable being in a separate building to my teenagers and as soon as a room in the building on the other side was available at 11am they moved us over to be with them and were very understanding of the situation and didn’t make me feel like a nuisance. Thank you to everyone at the Santa marina beach hotel!

A beautiful hotel, very clean, staff are all very hard working and friendly. Food was very tasty, lots of variety too. On arrival there was a problem with room but Katerina dealt with it very swiftly and we were very happy with the upgrade. Just a couple of observations really...... Lots of steps!! The hotel is on the beach side BUT the swimming pools are through an underpass in the hotel carpark. About 15-20 steps down into the underpass then the same up the other side. Here you have swimming pools, gym/ spa, children's play area, dining area. Lots of apartments/rooms..... In the main hotel there are steps down to dining area but there is a small ramp to side. There are steps out to the outside dining area, I would advice that if you have a child's buggy, wait in the outside bar area while the person you are with gets escorted to an outside table, then join them ( all guests are asked to use the main entrance to dining room). Also the only WC inside the hotel is down at least 15 steps but there is a lift, unfortunately as you step off the lift there are 4 large steps down and then a step up to use the ladies/gents. Another guest pointed out an outside bathroom the day before we left but it is on the other side of the hotel. The Beach was lovely, plenty of sun beds... A bus stop right outside the hotel takes you to many towns for €1.60. Sometimes there is a bit of a wait. On leaving the hotel grounds to the left and right there are some bars, a shop, restaurants, a supermarket. The transfer took approximately 30 minutes. It was our first time booking and travelling with jet2 and we certainly would do so again. Overall we had a good holiday, very relaxed and we would go back. But not in May as there was NO ENTERTAINMENT at all but because of that we met some lovely people who we chatted to and had a laugh with every night. Thank you to everyone at the hotel for making our stay so relaxing.

As this was our first trip to chania, we were amazingly surprised, and pleased, from the beautiful view of the hotel beach, to the amazing and friendly staff, the food was tasty and excellent, as coffee lover , I would highly recommend a Greek coffee by the bar beach , made by the amazing and friendly gentleman, also not to be missed the weekly Greek night, organise by Julia, and what great night that was, so if you are looking for a special holiday, this is the one.

Overall a nice hotel with great staff who are welcoming, attentive and friendly. All facilities were clean and the property gardens well maintained. Unfortunately our experience wasn't quite what we'd hoped for, however we appreciate that most of this was probably down to our stay being at the end of the tourist season for this hotel as it was set to close for winter on the day we checked out. (Unfortunately we weren't made aware of this when we booked the trip through Jet2 holidays). Note: Our stay was from the 17th - 24th October.  During the last few days of our holiday, guests seemed to have been forgotten about and the place just seemed to be focused on winding down ready for closing up. We only found out several days into our stay through a member of staff that we would be some of the last guests to leave and that the hotel would be closing after we checked out.  As our departure date drew nearer, the experience around the hotel began to rapidly decline and left us feeling slightly disappointed with our visit. To set some context, we booked an all inclusive package holiday with Jet2.  It may not sound like much, but we were disappointed to find that on 4 out of the 7 days of our holiday the poolside bar was closed. To get a drink from the nearest open bar, one had to leave the resort, cross the road, venture through the main hotel building and then head to the beach side bar out of the back of the hotel. Furthermore, the bar that had remained open had ran out of some drinks and all snacks. (Part of the all inclusive package). With 3 days to go before we were due to leave, staff had put away all but 2 sun loungers (taken by other guests) around one of the pools and the other pool had approximately 10 left out, but only 2 umbrellas (taken by other guests as well). By the final day all furniture around one of the pools had been removed, forcing guests to use the one pool. Our frustration continued to grow having gone for lunch on the last few days of our trip, we were informed that the lunchtime buffet had been replaced with a set menu mainly consisting of salad and fish. (Great for some, but not personally to my taste).  Although not ideal, we sympathised with why the hotel was doing this as there were only approximately 30-50 guests remaining at this point. As someone who is a bit of a picky eater, I found the buffet options (when available) were quite limited compared to other Greek hotels that we've stayed at before and I found myself eating the same meals quite frequently. In fairness guests may find an entirely different experience when staying at other times in the year.  We went out for meals on a few more occasions than what we would normally to mix things up a bit. Our frustrations are predominantly with Jet2 holidays who could have informed us when booking this trip that the all inclusive experience would be limited and to take into account that the hotel would be closing on our departure date. Had we known about some of thes

Wow beautiful hotel spotless clean. The staff (everyone from Housekeeping, to security, reception, waiters and waitresses)are friendly and welcoming. We had a few issues while there (one was noisy neighbours and the other was cleaning didn’t happen) both dealt with quickly and efficiently. There are quite a few steps around the complex so if you have trouble with stairs it’s something to enquire about.

We really enjoyed the hotel. The hotel itself was perfectly positioned for the beach and for public transport, with a bus stop just outside. The two pool areas are lovely, especially the relaxation pool with an attentive waiter who regularly brings drinks. The beach lovely, clear calm waters which were shallow and safe. There were lots of steps throughout the indoor and outdoor areas of the hotel - so not an ideal hotel for anyone with mobility issues. The hotel is separated by a road with beach, reception and dining areas as well as the beach rooms on one side, and on the other side of the road two pools, a bar, restaurant and all other rooms. Staff were all pleasant and helpful. Reception staff were very helpful and offered advice for excursions and booked taxis etc. Our room was basic but very clean. Cleaned daily by a very cheery cleaner. I heard other guest asked to move to more recently renovated rooms but the basic rooms are perfectly comfortable and spacious for a week. I hear the nicest and newest rooms overlook the relaxation pool but we were happy to rest our heads in ours. We were all inclusive for a week which was great value. Food was varied and plentiful, we didn’t use the second restaurant as it was end of season and we fancied eating out a couple of times instead. My husband and boys enjoyed use of the gym which was quiet and had enough equipment for a workout. Overall a very relaxing hotel to stay in. It was end of season and the second half of our week was quiet. There were two nights of entertainment during our stay. Saxophone night was particularly good - an excellent musician and great songs! We had live Greek music on our last night over dinner- again excellent musicians. We had a great holiday and for the price we paid (approx £650 pp) we couldn’t fault it - great value for money. 😊